Mentored by a Madman: The William Burroughs Experiment

A fascinating account by one of the world's leading neurologists of the profound influence of William Burroughs on his medical career. Lees relates how Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch and troubled drug addict, inspired him to discover a ground-breaking treatment for Parkinson's Disease. Lees journeys to the Amazonian rainforest in search of cures, and through self-experimentation seeks to find the answers his patients crave. He enters a powerful plea for the return of imagination to medical research.

A. J. Lees is a professor of neurology at the National Hospital, London. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Academy of Neurology Lifetime Achievement Award, the Association of British Neurologists’ Medal, the Dingebauer Prize for Outstanding Research, and the Gowers Medal. He is one of the most highly cited Parkinson’s disease researchers in the world and is the author of several books, including Ray of Hope, which was short-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and The Silent Plague.

James Grauerholz is a writer, editor, and the biographer and literary executor of the estate of William S. Burroughs.